Buckeyes batter PSU's heralded 'D'

STATE COLLEGE — Rather than single out a particular player or unit after a loss, Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley prefers to look in a mirror first and figure out his own failings.

ANDREW KROECKEL

STATE COLLEGE — Rather than single out a particular player or unit after a loss, Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley prefers to look in a mirror first and figure out his own failings.

Well, he better look in a pretty big one that reflects the entire Penn State locker room because there's plenty of blame to go around following the Nittany Lions' 37-17 loss to No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday.

The defensive line was man-handled by the Ohio State offensive line, the linebackers were missing tackles five yards down the field and the secondary made far too many tackles, either picking up the linebackers' slack or pulling down the receivers they left wide open. The Buckeyes, who didn't punt, totaled 453 yards of offense, 253 through the air and 200 on the ground, against a defense that had been allowing 279.7 total.

"I don't think we're playing as well as we should or I hoped we would be playing at this point," Bradley said, "but I think a lot of that may have to do with some of the things that I'm doing with them, and I got to take a good, hard look at myself on some of the things I'm calling."

The first fingers to be pointed were aimed at the secondary, which was left hung out by a front four that couldn't get any pressure on Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman. Touted as one of the best units in the country before the season, Penn State's defensive backs, playing without safety Tony Davis, who had an appendectomy on Friday, gave up more than 250 yards passing for the second consecutive week. Indiana threw for 318 yards during the Nittany Lions' 36-31 victory on Oct. 20.

Getting thrown into the fire with little time to prepare was Mark Rubin, who fared no better than safety Anthony Scirrotto or cornerbacks Justin King or Lydell Sargeant against an offense that had been averaging 216.5 yards passing coming in.

"They kind of knew what we were going to do or had an idea and they took advantage of that," said Sargeant, who had to make 10 tackles, missed several more and was badly beaten by Brian Hartline on several plays.

Sargeant also said the schemes, formations and plays the Buckeyes ran were unlike anything the Nittany Lions had seen from them on film over the past few weeks.

"They played really well (Saturday) and had us a little bit off our heels early in the game with some of the things they were doing, with all the different formations," Bradley said. "And we weren't tackling well."

The Nittany Lions, who had 35 sacks on the season coming in, but recorded just one Saturday, did little to no blizting in the first half, leaving the front four to deal with six or seven blockers as the Buckeyes were in max protect for most of the game. With all the time he needed to throw, Boeckman went 19-for-26 with three touchdowns, setting up one score with a 60-yard connection with Ray Small.

"It was really seven guys to block four," defensive tackle Phil Taylor said. "So basically every guy was getting doubled, so we really had a hard time getting to him."

To make matters even worse, the Penn State defense kept itself on the field for 37 minutes, 52 seconds, allowing Ohio State to convert 12 of 16 third downs and one fourth down. The Buckeyes went 4-for-4 on third down on the 15-play, 91-yard scoring drive that put them up 17-7 in the second quarter.

"They did a good job hitting some outs and hitting some quick passes or draws," linebacker Dan Connor said. "That's going to get you every time. Basically, they just schemed us well and executed."

The worst of those offenses on that drive was the touchdown itself, a 4-yard screen pass that turned into a 16-yard touchdown by Hartline on third-and-goal, coming after the Buckeyes were pushed back 10 yards by a holding penalty.

"We should have been in good shape," Bradley said. "We were in three deep, we just misplayed that one."

That wasn't the only one.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.